Pickup hook for flying boats



Oct. 17, 1950 A. GOUGE PICKUP HOOK FOR FLYING BOATS 2 Sheets-Sheet, 1

Filed Nov. 5, 1946 Oct. 17, 1950 A. GOUGE PICKUP HOOK FOR FLYING BOATS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 5, 1946 Patented Oct. 17, 1950 S PATENT 7 OFFICE PICKUP HOOK FOR FLYING BOATS Arthur Gouge, Isle-of-Wight, England, assignor to Saunders-Roe Limited, Isle-of-Wight, England Application November 5, 1946, Serial No. 707,927 In Great Britain November 16, 1945 3 Claims.

. a flying boat base comprising a dock on the shore of a landing stretch of Water, a breakwater located oflshore from the clock, a pick-up cable or the like extending between the breakwater and the dock, the cable having stops at suitable spaced intervals to cooperate with a hook or like pick-up device mounted at or near the bow of the flying boat and a winch or the equivalent for towing the engaged flying boat into the dock.

According to this scheme, it is anticipated that the flying boat, after alighting on the stretch of water, should taxi up to the cable and pick it up by means of a hook located at the bow of the boat, whereaiter the tail is drawn into alignment with the cable by means of a subsidiary cable taken out to the flying boat by means of a dinghy and operated by a winch either on the breakwater or on the dock as may be most convenient having regard to the attitude of the fiying boat.

According to the present invention a flying boat is provided with two pick-up hooks, one at the bow and the other near the tail. This enables the nose of the boat to be attached to the cable as before, by means of the bow hook, whereupon the boat is manoeuvred by difierential operation of its engines so as to bring the tail alongside the 4 cable, and the tail hook then engaged to hold the boat in alignment with the cable and allow it to be safely and effectively drawn into the dock, or alternatively moored in the fairway by a stationary mooring cable.

The hook at the bows may be of the construction described in U. S. Patent No. 2,447,945, but should preferably have a swivelling attachment to the hull. It may, however, be a manually operated hook, instead of engaging the cable automatically as the flying boat moves up to the cable. The mouth of the tail hook should face laterally to engage the cable as the tail swings round towards the cable. It may be of similar construction to that in U. S. Patent No. 2,447,945, or may be manually operable to engage the cable. It is preferably fitted near the rear step and rotatable in relation to the hull, so as to enable the mouth of the hook to be directed either to port or to starboard as may be needed.

Both hooks are preferably so designed that they are retractable into the hull and arranged to cast off the cable during the initial stage of retraction.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figs. 1-3 are plan views showing successive stages in the engagement of the flying boat with the cable,

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the flying boat, showing the same engaged with the cable, and

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through one form of mooring hook.

In Fig. 1 the flying boat I0 is shown taxying along the water and approaching a mooring cable H supported at or near the water level by floats l2. The flying boat has a bow hook l4 and a tail hook l5, the latter being disposed near the rear step l3. After engagement of the bow hook with the cable, the flying boat is manoeuvred, by clif ferential operation of its engines, to swing the tail towards the cable as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2. The tail hook is then engaged, as indicated in Fig. 3 to hold the moored boat in alignment with the cable.

In Fig. 5 is shown one form of mooring hook which may be used both for the bow and for the tail hook. The hook M is pivoted at I6 to a downward extension II! of a bell member [1, mounted to rotate on a ball bearing E8 in the upper end of a casing 19 fixed in the hull 2B of the boat. In the bell member H is fitted a ball 2|, through which extends an operating rod 22. This is connected by a link 23 to a handle 24 pivoted at 25 to an upward extension 26 of the bell member l1. Pivotal movement of the hand1e'24 is therefore eflective to produce axial movement of the rod 22 and therefore pivotal movement, about a pivot 21, of a lever 28 connected to the lower end of the rod 22. A pin 40 on the lever 28 couples said lever to a companion toggle lever 4! which is pivoted at 42 to the hook M3. The pin 42 engages a slot 43 in a link 29, pivoted at 44 to a catch 39, pivoted at 45 to'the hook M.

The hook retracting mechanism is described in detail in U. S. Patent No. 2,447,945, and it will be sufiicient here to state that clockwise movementof lever 28 is first effective, by breaking the toggle, to cause a partial anti-clockwise rotation of the hook l4 about its pivot l6 and also to displace, through the action of the pin Ali on the link 29, the catch 38 from the position illustrated, in which it is held by a spring 3!. This opens the mouth of the hook to permit the cable I I to become disengaged therefrom. Continued clockwise movement of lever 28 causes the lever 4| to further rotate the hook l4 anti-clockwise about its pivot [6, thereby casting off the cable and retracting the hook into the hull. When the hook is fully retracted, a plate 32 closes the opening 33 in the hull- By using the handle 24 as a tiller,

the bell member H can be swivelled to alter the orientation of the hook in relation to the hull. The hook can moreover, when engaged by the cable, swivel freely in relation to the hull as may be required by the pull of the cable. Thus, when it is used as a bow hook, it can swivel as the boat moves from the position of Fig. 2 to that of Fig. 3.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A flying boat comprising a hull, a casing fitted in the bottom of the hull near the bow thereof, said casing being open at the bottom, a pick-up hook for automatically engaging and holding a mooring cable, a structure supporting said pick-up hook and mounted in said casing for rotation about a vertical axis, said pick-up hook being mounted on the structure for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis, a member operable from within the interior of the hull to efiect pivotal movement of said pick-up hook in relation to said structure from a retracted position, in which said hook is retracted within the casing, to a projected position in which said hook projects beneath the hull, and a second pick-up hook near the stern of the hull, said second pickup hook being adapted, when approached to a mooring cable, to automatically engage and hold said cable.

2. A flying boat, comprising a hull, a pick-up hook mounted in said hull at the bow thereof and comprising a catch in the mouth of the hook and a spring normally maintaining said catch in position to close the mouth of the hook, said catch being adapted, when said hook is approached to a cable near the surface of the water to be displaced against said spring by said cable to allow the cable to enter the hook and thereafter to be returned by said spring to, and maintained by said spring in, position to trap said cable in said hook, said bow-pick-up hook being rotatable in relation to said hull about a substantially vertical axis so that said hull may swing in relation to said hook when engaged with said cable, and a second pick-up hook mounted in said hull near the stern thereof, said second pick-up hook comprising a catch in the mouth of the hook and a spring normally maintaining said catch in position to close the mouth of said hook, said catch being adapted, when approached to said cable by swinging of said hull as aforesaid, to move aside against said spring to allow said cable to enter said hook and thereafter to be returned by said spring to, and maintained by said spring in, position to trap said cable in said hook.

3. A flying boat, comprising a hull, a pair of pick-up hooks, each mounted in said hull for rotation in relation to said hull about a substantially vertical axis, one hook being located at the bow of the hull and the other hook being located near the stern of the hull and each of said hooks comprising a catch in the mouth of the hook and a spring for maintaining the catch in position to close said mouth, said catch being adapted, when approached to a cable near the surface of the water, to move aside against said spring to allow the said cable to enter said hook and thereafter to be returned by said spring to, and maintained by said spring in, position to trap said cable in said hook.

ARTHUR GOUGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,625,020 Diago Apr. 19, 1927 1,811,321 Kiwull June 23, 1931 2,276,312 Jurschick Mar. 17, 1942 2,411,382 Martin Nov. 19, 1946 2,419,455 Lee Apr. 22, 1947 

